Markdown is the easiest way to create web (HTML) content and can be used to generate PDFs Word and other documents with all the flexibility of CSS styling. The syntax is easy to learn and the various flavors of Markdown extend it to a point where it's adaptible enough to handle most needs.Peachpit - Creating Content with Markdown

Working in plain text means creating future-proof documents that can shift with the changing tides of content creation tools and presentation formats. It's an ideal means of content creation for everyone from web professionals to office workers and from casual bloggers to authors of long-form works.